October 21, 2013 1:47pm EDTOctober 21, 2013 1:01pm EDTThe Lakers are one of the NBA's more unpredictable teams. There is a history of success established, but there's also the strong possibility their stars have seen their best days, SN's Sean Deveney writes in our season preview.

Where they’re heading

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To the playoffs? Maybe? Rarely have we seen the Lakers get themselves into a situation in which their future is quite so indeterminate as it is now. Not only are they waiting on the return of Kobe Bryant from surgery on his Achilles tendon, but they are not even sure where Bryant fits into the franchise’s future—Achilles’ injuries are notoriously tough to get over, so Bryant probably won’t be 100 percent, and he will be a free agent next summer, declaring he is not looking to take a pay cut. The Lakers are banking on an acre of cap space to chase free agents next summer, but if Bryant demands a contract starting at the most he can be paid (that would be $32 million), the Lakers will have few palatable options. In the meantime, the players on hand, led by a rejuvenated Pau Gasol, a (hopefully) healthy Steve Nash and some inexpensive bit pieces cast off from other locales (Chris Kaman, Wesley Johnson, Nick Young, Jordan Farmar), has the difficult challenge of keeping the Lakers afloat in the West until Bryant recuperates

Where they’ve been

What a jolt this summer was for an organization that has just always managed to reel in some of the best players in league history—from Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Magic Johnson to Shaquille O’Neal to Kobe Bryant—through smarts and guile. The Lakers seemed to pull another coup last summer with the acquisition of center Dwight Howard, but the season quickly turned into a nightmare as Howard struggled to mesh with Bryant and coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense, and left in free agency this summer. That shadow is hanging over the franchise, especially new head honcho Jim Buss, who is lacking the Midas touch that his father, Jerry, possessed. That’s not necessarily the younger Buss’ fault, though his coaching decisions, including Mike Brown and now, Mike D’Antoni, have been the subject of ridicule. The Bryant injury and the free-agent chase of next summer figures to further challenge the decision-making apparatus that Buss has in place now.

Introducing … Xavier Henry

Xavier Henry appeared ready to be swept into the dustbin of draft busts, a former star at Kansas who was selected by the Grizzlies with the 12th pick in the 2010 draft because of his perimeter prowess, then proceeded to shoot 11.8 percent on 3-pointers in his rookie seasons in Memphis . He shot better with the Hornets in the last two years, but never really found a role. Now, while Henry could get caught in the Lakers’ roster crunch, he has made a name for himself in the preseason, averaging 12.3 points in the Lakers’ first six games, shooting 55.6 percent from the arc. It’s a very small sample, obviously, but for a guy who appeared headed overseas if he planned to continue his basketball career, Henry has given himself a shot to stick with the Lakers.

Numbers game

Just how the Lakers will work out the pairing of Kaman and Gasol in the frontcourt will be an interesting problem for D’Antoni. Kaman is a natural center, and did not play power forward at all last season. Overall, according to 82games.com, he registered a per-48-minute PER of 16.5 last year, while his opponents came in at 18.7. That’s a net of -2.2. As a power forward, Gasol has a PER of 15.4, while opponents were 17.2, a net of -1.8. But as a center, where Gasol’s versatility is much more effective and his lack of speed is easier to hide, he registered a PER of 22.0, with opponents at 14.4. That’s a +7.6. The numbers show that Gasol needs to play center, but that means putting Kaman into unfamiliar territory at power forward, where he could well be a disaster. Like everything with this Lakers season, much is unknown.